She knew many stares came her way for the fact that she wore a fox pelt. It was something she had observed during her upbringing in any hours she spent with her mother. Cats would always stop and stare at the ones who wore an extra set of fur, who hid behind a mask of sorts. For her mother, it was the pelt of a hare. A particularly interesting choice for a Riverclan cat, one that would have been much better suited for the moors. It had gone so far as to have been a linking source to her name, Harebounce. On the other paw, there now was the white-furred molly with honey-colored eyes who wore the pelt of a fox. A predator, hiding within an even deadlier predator's fur. She wore it for strength, for comfort, for her heritage. She also currently wore it for warmth.
Warmth that she especially needed given recent events. Beneath the pelt hid several layers of cobwebs and poultices that would prevent her wounds from being infected. It had taken at least four sticks to keep her from yowling in the pain that the slices had as she had rid blood from her fur as a result of the battle. Still, she would not have had it any other way. The battle wounds she took were hers and hers alone for being the one to go after such a beast, anyways.
Even as she would wear the scars of her arguable recklessness, if one were to prompt her, they would be met with a simple answer: it was a success. Such success was now demonstrated by what she struggled to carry in an honorable fashion in her maw. A badger's pelt, in near-immaculate condition. There had been a singular cat in mind that she had thought of when obtaining it. A tom who found himself in the category of 'strange' much like herself. Someone who she had known by proxy of sharing a mentor, but also by the whispers of 'outcast' that had surrounded his name. She would not push him to take on a new alias much as she had bestowed upon her apprentices, but there was another gift she could give.
Her tradition of pelt-wearing was not common. She had accepted that long ago. However, that did not mean a predator's pelt was without use. Even if it was not worn in the same near-religious fashion that she did, it would provide significant warmth during their journey. Riverclan had thinned out perhaps the most in the forest's grasp, and it was easy to attribute that reality to the fact that it was the river they had gone without. Water fueled all life, prey included. Egretswoop had noticed how it meant their pelts did not carry the same thick sheen that they were supposed to, either. So warmth was a precious resource.
Moving directly towards the tuxedo-pelted tom, there was a certain smugness that pricked the back of her mind as she realized just how fitting of a pelt she'd chosen. Mentally brushing herself on the back with her tail, Egretswoop finally dropped the badger's pelt as she was close enough to converse with one of Riverclan's newer warriors.
"Larkspring, I come with a gift for you. In congratulations and celebration for your name." This was the part she hadn't quite rehearsed as well. It was different when gifting a pelt than when obtaining one's own.
"This badger pelt is for you. It is a fantastic source of warmth. I will not advise or require you to wear it as I wear mine, or even to use it. Nevertheless, I wish to bestow it onto you. It can serve as a warm nest-base, should you prefer that." It would slowly become a goal of hers to give some sort of pelt to all of her Clanmates. Her apprentices were a logical start, and her colleague under Rowansong was fitting due to his recent promotion. Perhaps it would be her former mentor next that would receive a pelt... but such was a question to ponder another time.
ooc; pelt obtained in this topic
![peace offering [c] RFRAcV8](https://i.imgur.com/RFRAcV8.png)
